Free Broken Road by Mari Beck

the last 2 months it was that what he wanted wasn’t often what other people cared about.   They had their own agendas, their own plans.   There was a stage set up nearby and there was a red carpet rolled out from the tarmac, leading straight to it. He sighed again.   The screaming continued, the clapping was persistent and the band played its heart out.   Over all of it, Riley scanned the enormous crowd looking for just one person.   He felt the tears well up in his eyes, threatening to spill over right then and there in front of all those strangers.   So, he pulled out his army issue sunglasses, put them on and descended the small stairs carrying his duffel bag.   The crowd reached out to touch him and pressed dangerously hard against the ropes set up by local law enforcement.   It kept most people within fingertip distance, but it didn’t stop the Sheriff’s deputies and police officers from giving him congratulatory slaps on the back as he walked quickly through the throng of well -wishers and patriots.   When he reached the end of the gamut he saw his fiancée Misty Langston, his best friend Brandon Cole and his grandfather EJ Favreau were waiting for him.
    “Riley!” Misty yelled out but Riley walked right past her and Brandon. He dropped his duffel bag, took off his sunglasses and walked straight into the arms of the man standing next to them. He clung tightly to the elderly man dressed in a pair of worn overalls and a clean, white, long sleeve shirt. They held on to each other as the elderly man cried.   EJ Favreau was the only father he had ever known and the two had grown closer after his mother died leaving him to be raised by his grandparents.
    “Grandpa.” Riley said, emotion choking him.  
    “Welcome home, boy. Welcome home.” His grandfather whispered.There was thunderous applause and as if on cue the band started up again as a reporter struggled to make it the five or so feet to Riley in order to interview him.   But after the fierce embrace he shared with his grandfather, Riley looked up and seemed to realize where he was.   He pulled away quickly, put on his sunglasses and made his way through the rest of the crowd, avoiding the red carpet leading to the adjacent stage stocked with special guests and dignitaries. Then he walked into the terminal and out of sight.   The reporter was visibly frustrated by Riley’s disappearing act but made do instead with sticking the microphone in the face of Riley’s grandfather. As he rushed through the hallways he could hear his grandfather’s words over the terminal loudspeakers.
    “I suppose,” EJ told the crowd "that my grandson doesn’t feel that he should be singled out for this kind of attention.   What he did over there, on that road, well, there are probably lots of young men and women in uniform that have been in that situation.   The feeling, I’m sure he has, is that he did what any one of them would have done if they’d been in his shoes.   So, he thanks you, as I do, for your prayers and support and asks you to continue to offer them for those who are still back there fighting.   Thank you.”
    Another thunderous round of applause cued the band into “God Bless America”.   But not far away, inside the terminal, from the safety of the third stall in the newly remodeled men’s bathroom Army Specialist Riley Favreau found himself hiding from the crowd outside, his grandfather, his fiancée, his best friend and more importantly himself.

CHAPTER TEN
Different

      Riley had been home for almost a week before he finally got the opportunity to be alone with his fiancée.   He hadn’t really said anything to anyone since the ceremonies were over at the airport.   He didn’t offer any explanations and as much as she or EJ might have felt they were owed some sort of explanation for his strange behavior, neither one of them pushed him on the subject. He slept most of the first week away, hidden in the darkness of his room with